A collection of things on men's clothing and culture

Category: Men’s Clothing
(page 4 of 74)

Instead of resorting to my usual plaid scarves this year, I thought I’d try something different with two new unusual patterned scarves from Drake’s and Nigel Cabourn. Arriving just in time for the lower temperatures, both are nicely knit and it’s easy to get great knots with each.

The hooped scarf from Nigel Cabourn came in a few different colorways this season and are still available through many stockists. Its construction is very basic as far as an old-fashioned knit scarf goes, and this gives it a tendency to roll inward (a feature to love or hate). The only detail I could have done without is the leather patch, which will soon be fixed with a seam ripper.

Now in the stock for the season, Corgi’s fair isle socks have the right dash of colors and patterns for those who are looking for something more interesting to go with their winter footwear. Mr. Porter seems to have them for the best price here in the U.S. and still have a few pairs left of the red and blue versions.

In cases where I cannot decide on which color to pick, I usually just get both.

The weather is now cold enough for heavy knitwear and I was able to finally track down a Saint James Matelot in my size thanks to the team at Archival Clothing, which carries a good selection in its webstore. Very close fitting, the thick knit wool of the Matelot is designed to keep the elements away from the body and is a great alternative to the Binic II if you have long arms.

Saint James was also recently featured in Men’s File Issue 4 where they visited the factory and wrote a short piece about the manufacturing – apparently some the equipment is so old that punch card programming is still used. During their visit, they were able to check out a number of vintage sweaters shown below and it inspired the creation of two modern pieces for bikers and cyclists (both made by Saint James).

I was glad to see that Mr. Porter is now carrying a small selection of wool caps from Lock & Co. Hatters, including several made with Harris Tweed. Compared to caps that I have from Wigens, Christys’, and Borsalino, those from Lock & Co. feel much more substantial and look better finished (I can appreciate that the company’s cap maker takes care in matching up the fabric patterns on some of the main seams). For this season, I picked out the greyish-brown version made in a rough donegal-like tweed which features small bits of color strewn about the wool.

I hope Mr. Porter expands its selection over the next few seasons – ordering hats online is not quite ideal, but at least the company makes the return process easy if there are fit issues.

Extra reading material: Lock & Co. has a care guide [pdf] for its tweed hats. It’s interesting to note that they recommend a strong spirit such as lighter fluid to help clean stained spots.

“Harris Tweed has always resonated in the minds of the few. But increasingly the people of Harris and their traditional ways are striking a chord with the many. It is hard to think of another product so deeply connected to both the landscape in which it is born and the people who create it. It has life, this tweed: it is filled with life by those who weave it it, it is coloured by the land in which it lives.” – Patrick Grant, Norton & Sons

In the book, Lara Platman follows the production of Harris Tweed fabrics over the course of a year and along the way profiles many of the people who are involved in the process, from those raising and shearing the sheep, to those who inspect the final product before it’s shipped off to suppliers and designers. When I was finally able to sit down and go through it, I couldn’t help but think of my own Harris Tweed jackets and the work that went into them – likely many of craftsmen featured in the book could have worked on the very same fabrics that my jackets were made from.

Along with tweed fans, anyone in the industry who is in the business of selling Harris Tweed garments should have this book on hand. I don’t think there’s anything else quite like it that captures the entire production process into a single volume and presents it in such an appreciative way.

A few examples of the photography included in the book can be found through Platman’s photoshelter website and it can be easily ordered online through several sources.

Our Legacy Two Pocket Shirt
Olive is not the first color that comes to mind when picking out a shirt, but this particular one on the right from Our Legacy has been a nice alternative to a jacket this month when the weather is still on the warm side. Its design is simple and the angled flap pockets are reminiscent to older outdoor shirts, most notably from LL Bean. The most interesting part is the sueded heavy cotton twill that it’s made from giving it a very soft hand. Where to find: several online stockists are carrying this shirt in olive and navy, just search for “Our Legacy two pocket shirt”.

Engineered Garments Flannel Workshirt
The Engineered Garments workshirt design is available in several cotton flannel patterns this season, and the one I picked out is as close as I’ll be able to get to the colorway used in the older flannel binocular shirts (years later I still regret not getting one). While it can be a bit too bold to wear on its own, it will be perfect for layering under other casual items like a corduroy Bedford and ripstop field vest. Where to find: a good variety of flannel workshirts are available through Blake, Drinkwater’s, and Inventory.

Commissioned by former Brioni executive Umberto Angeloni for his own company, the Uman essays are a newly released collection of commentaries from established authors covering the cultural influences and history of modern menswear. Information on the books are sparse and having no idea on what to expect out of these quality wise, I ordered just two of them: Cuba Libre, about the traditional guayabera by Nick Foulkes and the other, Franz Ferdinand by Joachim Bessing, which is all about the tracht.

Other books include one on golf jackets, another on gardening fashion, and the fifth one called Telemark, which I’m guessing is a reference to a region of Norway and could possibly cover the country’s bunad. The sixth essay, After Dark, is another one by Nick Foulkes and will be published later this year.

Back to the two books I ordered – while very short, both were very well written and informative and I’d recommend them to anyone interested in obscure clothing topics. A few photo examples are also included, and the Duke of Windsor makes several appearances (his extensive wardrobe included both a Tryolean suit and several guayaberas). My only complaint that should be noted – the page layouts are terrible as the publisher chose a large 20 point font for the text. The costs of the books individually are a bit steep as well for what you get and I do not think I will order anymore until they hit the bargain book sections or until a single smaller volume is released.